A heartwarming travel memoir filled with temper tantrums, disorienting jetlag, and zany, once-in-a-lifetime family adventures.
Who says you can't travel with kids? Dan and I find out we can do just that as we set off with our two very young kids, first to live and work on an island far out in the Pacific, then on to the continent of Africa with a few stops in between. Armed with strollers, diapers, and too much luggage, we travel to over twenty-five countries throughout a ten year span, while working together as overseas educators.
After surviving typhoon Yuri, almost being mauled by lions, and, nearly being shot by a presidential guard, we happily endure all of the good times and bad, while living life to the fullest. A decade's worth of experiences and lifelong memories remain with us, as we return to the U.S., now with two teenagers in tow, and begin to experience our very own version of reverse culture shock.
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Here We Are & There We Go – Jill Dobbe
By BestChickLit
What they say:
‘A heartwarming travel memoir filled with temper tantrums, disorienting jetlag, and zany, once-in-a-lifetime family adventures. Who says you can’t travel with kids? Dan and I find out we can do just that as we set off with our two very young kids, first to live and work on an island far out in the Pacific, then on to the con
tinent of Africa with a few stops in between. Armed with strollers, diapers, and too much luggage, we travel to over twenty-five countries throughout a ten year span, while working together as international overseas educators.
After surviving typhoon Yuri, almost being mauled by lions, and, being nearly shot by a presidential guard, we happily endure all of the good times and bad, while living life to the fullest. A decade’s worth of experiences and lifelong memories remain with us, as we return to the U.S., now with two teenagers in tow, and begin to experience our very own version of reverse culture shock.’
What we say – review by Charlotte Foreman:
Normally I try to write reviews as objectively as possible, taking into consideration readership as a whole and not just my personal opinion. However, because Here We Are & There We Go is such a personal account of the Dobbe Family’s trials and tribulations as they move across the globe, it seemed only fitting that I make an exception. As a die-hard chick-lit romance kinda gal, memoirs, autobiographies and anything based on geography does absolutely not float my boat.
Surprisingly though, I found this particular book completely fascinating. Stories of moving to unheard of islands with small children, being confronted by armed guards and dinners containing cat had me glued to the pages, and it became almost impossible to put down. Dobbe’s excellent recall is an especially important factor as she gives real-life events an almost story-like quality with high levels of detail. I really liked the family unit and it put a smile on my face to read about such an amazing family unit, as opposed to cheating spouses, unrequited love, etc. As far as I am concerned the book was over far too quickly, but I came away with a fresh at life and feeling as though I had just travelled the world vicariously through Jill Dobbe’s eyes.
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Book Review of Jill Dobbe's Memoir of Teaching and Traveling Around the World
Book Review: Here We Are & There We Go
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Submitted by Lisa Niver Rajna on Thu, 08/09/2012 - 15:02.Books
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In Here We Are & There We Go: Teaching and Traveling with Kids in Tow, author and teacher Jill Dobbe tells a revealing tale of naive travelers turning into global citizens. She and her husband, who are both teachers, decide on a whim in July 1991 to move their family of four to Guam and teach overseas. As she says, “At times it was frightening and we often asked ourselves, “What did we do?” but it also made Dan and I stronger and closer as we had to rely on each other for advice, help and friendship.” It is clear that they did not realize all they would learn and suffer from living abroad, but during their years of teaching in different countries, their fantastic experiences seem to outshine the daily dramas and hardships of working in foreign lands.
And they journeyed before the time of Internet and cell phones. Being on an island far away during a disaster in the early 1990’s meant they were completely separate from the mainland and no one knew what was happening, where they were, and they couldn't share any information about how they were surviving. They were obligated to depend on those around them and hope that those far away would not overly worry! Friends and family asked the Dobbes “What do you want to do that for?” and “Why would you want to take your kids so far away?” The Dobbes share their experiences of how much they and their children learned over the years, and why it is worth the risk and the leap to upend one's life and make a home somewhere else.
From children’s vomit on every car trip in Guam and unintentionally bathing in sewage after a hurricane, to often running out of money with each new country, and sitting in small tables on vacation in Japan, the Dobbes were willing to explore new places. Their tale of their heroic moments, from adopting Chloe, a Down’s Syndrome child in Singapore, to caring for household staff in Ghana and adopting another child, Bernie, who leaves them too soon, would bring another family to its knees. But the Dobbes are strengthened by their travails and are a great example of all people can learn by living in other countries. I think that any teacher considering living and teaching overseas should read this tale. Armchair travelers will also enjoy learning from their early mistakes and many journeys to new places.
The Dobbes say that “Homes weren’t about the material items inside of them. Instead, they were our refuge and where we spent time alone together talking, playing and lounging.” In America, so many of us are tied to our things, especially our electronic devices. Being in a country with so many who do not have the means to buy what we see as essential helps us to realize what is truly important.
I can only imagine the terror their family in the USA went through while hearing about the hurricanes, tropical storms, and earthquake while they lived in Guam, the lightening storm they encountered flying back from vacation in Australia, their grandchildren with rashes and worms in the arm, snakes popping up in the yard and in the classroom, as well as eating strange meats, and surviving many gastrointestinal illnesses. As a traveler, I know these are the things that happen. While living at home, some of these situations arise -- but not with the same frequency!
The benefits of living abroad are having access to a wealth of treasures that most only dream about after reading National Geographic Magazine. The stories of being on Safari in South Africa, enjoying nearly private beaches on the coast of Ghana, as well as being included in a wedding and Bar Mitzvah in Singapore, should make any teacher ready to take the leap to working overseas!
I appreciated Jill Dobbe’s honesty about how hard it was for her and her entire family to make the transition back to living in America. As hard as it is to learn to cross the street or drive in a foreign land, after a decade abroad, returning to a supermarket (with over twenty cereal choices and whole aisles devoted to soda pop) can make you have a panic attack. While I am sure her two children appreciated being part of proms, Homecoming, and basketball games, they did notice that suddenly only white people surrounded them. Living abroad makes you more sensitive both to economic status and to cultural diversity.
As a teacher who travels, I was at first nervous to share my stories from far away with my students - but like Jill Dobbe I found that the students and parents love to learn about other cultures. I loved reading about the multicultural fairs that she arranged in her American schools.
As Dobbe says, “We did get to travel across the globe and experience some of the huge expanses of ocean, rainforest, savannahs, and desert that exist across the earth. Our travels inspired and captivated us.” I hope you to find a way to read about new places, dream about living there and possibly buy a ticket to try it yourself.
Very Enlightening!
By Tania L. Ramos "High Desert Author" (Hesperia,CA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Here We Are & There We Go - Teaching and Traveling with Kids in Tow (Kindle Edition)
Jill Dobbe's book is fantastic. It accounts the travels she made with her husband and two children to places like Guam, Gana, and Egypt among so many others as teaching instructors. What an eye opener to a world I never even knew existed. A must read for people planning to move to other countries with kids in tote. The culture shock and reverse culture shock (when arriving back home) was amazing. I commend the Dobbe's for being able to withstand humidity, lack of plumming and electricity, snakes, scorpions, but most of all the cockroaches the size of cats. There was humor, adventure, the retelling of beautiful places, and some scary moments.
My favorite is part is when they told their daughter about going to Egypt. I also loved reading how her husband went from extreme excitement in the beginning to how he slowly progressed to becoming angry at lugging furniture and rugs all over the world. It was also wonderful to see how well the kids adjusted and to get a glimpse into the rich lives they live today as a result of these travels.
Great job to Jill Dobbe. If you are interested in travel to exotic and not so exotic places, traveling with kids, or planning on teaching abroad then this is the book for you. And if your just looking for a fun quick read with humor, excitement, and danger then this book has it all . . . and it all really happened.
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Reviews for "Here We Are & There We Go: Teaching and Traveling With Kids in Tow"
The author and her husband made the very brave decision to pack up their bags and live abroad with two small children. Not to Paris or to Florence, mind you, but to a remote village in Africa and a small community in undeveloped Asia. The stories are just pieces of memories made in many years immersed in other cultures, forced to learn new languages, and live without the comforts so many of us take for granted. Such as running water in our homes. I was inspired and am now interested in learning how to become an international teacher, too!
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